existentialists
Meaning-seekers through anxiety
Existentialists are people who embrace existentialism—a philosophical outlook emphasizing individual freedom, choice, and responsibility in a universe without inherent meaning.
The term covers both formal philosophers like Sartre and Camus and anyone who adopts the stance that existence precedes essence, that we define ourselves through our choices rather than conforming to predetermined roles: The existentialists at the café debated whether authenticity was possible in modern life.
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
Beauvoir · Dostoevsky · Merleau-Ponty · Marcel · Ortega
French absurdist author-philosopher
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- futilityLack of purpose
- absurdismPhilosophy embracing existence's irrationality
revolt · Kafkaesque · irrationality · incongruity · void · rebellion · defiance · acceptance
Settled course of action
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- consequenceResult of an action
- angstDeep unfocused worry
dilemma · agency · predicament · morality · judgment · burden · accountability · leap of faith
Deep unfocused worry
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- nauseaPre-vomiting stomach discomfort
- despairTotal absence of hope
- alienationState of being isolated
ennui · forlornness · abandonment · nothingness · vertigo · trembling · crisis · disquiet
Individual identity, personhood
- bad faithIntentional deception in dealings
- genuinenessQuality of being real
- self-realizationAchieving personal potential
- individualityUnique personal character
self-awareness · sincerity · self-deception · integrity · self-creation · transparency · originality · inner voice
Autonomous choice capacity
- agencyPower to act
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- liberationRelease from constraint
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
determinism · constraints · limitations · possibility · transcendence · self-creation · emancipation · will
Sartre
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
Camus · Beauvoir · Dostoevsky · Merleau-Ponty · Marcel · Ortega
Camus
French absurdist author-philosopher
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- futilityLack of purpose
absurdism · revolt · Kafkaesque · irrationality · incongruity · void · rebellion · defiance · acceptance · lucidity
decision
Settled course of action
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- consequenceResult of an action
angst · dilemma · agency · predicament · morality · judgment · burden · accountability · leap of faith · either/or
angst
Deep unfocused worry
alienation · ennui · forlornness · abandonment · nothingness · vertigo · trembling · crisis · disquiet · unease
selfhood
Individual identity, personhood
- bad faithIntentional deception in dealings
- genuinenessQuality of being real
- self-realizationAchieving personal potential
individuality · self-awareness · sincerity · self-deception · integrity · self-creation · transparency · originality · inner voice · self-expression
free will
Autonomous choice capacity
- agencyPower to act
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- liberationRelease from constraint
self-determination · determinism · constraints · limitations · possibility · transcendence · self-creation · emancipation · will · volition
- thinkersthinkers, thinker, philosophers, philosopher, Aristotle
- Paris literatiwriters, poets, authors, novelists, essayists
- Psychology SchoolsFreudians, behaviorists, psychoanalysts, humanists, functionalists
- believersbeliever, believers, adherent, devotee, theist
- French IntellectualsJean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Sartre, Voltaire
- Literary Groupswriting group, writers group, poetry circle, writing circle, writers workshop
existentialistsdeterminists
Those denying free will
essentialists · fatalists · Calvinists · behaviorists · mechanists
existentialistsessentialists
Believers in fixed natures
Platonists · rationalists · idealists · scholastics · systematizers
existentialistsnihilists
Deniers of meaning
theists · absolutists · traditionalists · dogmatists · conformists